Higher demands boosted prices of tea sold at the East African tea auction here this week, a senior official of East Africa Tea Trade Association (EATTA) said here Tuesday, October 23.
"Leaf prices were nominally higher on Monday, as normal trading activity returned," the official said, pointing out that prices in all categories were on average up by $0.25. "This was prompted by better enquiries on the trading floor," he added.
He attributed the improvement to eased anxiety in the market after a tariff row was resolved last week between Kenya and Egypt, an important buyer country at the auction.
"There was good general demand which, however, eased towards the close," leading broking house, Africa Tea Brokers (ATB), confirmed in a market report also released here on Monday.
The report said Egypt and the United Kingdom, another large buyer, was less active during trading, as "they were less active ... enquiry from the Sudan, Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries was selective."
Brighter BP1s appreciated by $0.12 to be sold at between $1.80 and $1.86, while Brighter Dust1s showed price gains of $0.06 to sell at a ceiling of $2.01, the ATB report said.
The report said the Brigher PF1s sold at rates lower by $0.10, while the Brighter PDusts gained up to $0.15 with quality and other catalogues eased by a similar margin due to quality. — (AFP, Mombasa)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
